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Friday, September 30, 2005

I'll have to do some serious picture taking tomorrow, but I bought and felted, shrunk, 6 more wool sweaters. Yes these are for making mittens and hats from, why I need so many? I'm not sure, I think I'm obsessed with shrinking things.

I finally found two more red sweaters, so I can now make myself some red mittens. Some of these are cardigans, and have some pretty spiffy buttons on them. Buttons to add to my growing button stash.

My friend, and fellow dyer, Carol Lee, sent me a jpeg of an electric spinner. The spinner had been made out of a jumbo flyer attached to a 2 x something or another and an old singer sewing machine motor with foot petal attachement. Guessey what I'm gonna make! Unfortunately the only two by material I have on hand is maple, I know it's so sad, but someones gonna have to use it so why not.

I need a wheel for my Ashford jumbo flyer. You can see from the pic I posted the type of wheel it fits. I just don't know if I can find another used wheel to go with. I bought it thinking I'd take the flyer off of my current wheel, but decided I loved spinning thin yarns as well as thick chunky decorative stuff.

Asford Spinning Wheel, it's a princess model I think. Ignore the dust on it, it'll get dusted later today and it's always dusty for some odd reason. I have a used jumbo flyer that I bought to go with that I now want to use as well.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

I think I made a major mistake today, no I don't think I know I did. I emptied out the wheel barrow and it was full of very rusty water. I should have tried to put it into buckets to put fabric into, what a waste. Oh well it's supposed to rain again tonight so maybe it'll fill with rusty water again, and I have about 50 pounds of walunts, complete with husks in the barrow, which is why I emptied it in the first place.

I should be get some sort of color of WOW here with the walnuts and rust! Except the walnuts are in garbage bags, bags that leaked all over my truck and the gook is probably eating the paint off of the body as I write. I'll take them, the walnuts, out of the bags tomorrow and throw fabric into the barrow with.

It's been one of those years what can I say. Well my gourds are beautiful what more can I ask for!

I moved all of my knitting needles and crochet hooks to the living room this afternoon, it feels good to have more space in my studio, and to be able to sit with my husband and pets in the evening. Now to move the yarn and wool down there as well.

Sunday, September 25, 2005

I put my spinning wheel in the livingroom tonight, and told my husband that I hoped he didn't mind. He doesn't btw. I also put some of my knitting in there this afternoon. In the spirit of doing what I love I decided it was high time to do what I love in the livingroom and not just in my studio anymore. The result is a big empty spot in my studio, and instant stress reliever. I'll have to move my old dorm trunk to the living room so I can fill it with my every burgeoning yarn stash, I'll need an amoire or two or three just for the fleeces.

I've decided that the loom can live in the living room as well, I'll have to move some furniture out, maybe to the attic? Who knows. I'd love to put that furniture in the library (1905 Victorian home) but my business, or I should say parts of it, lives in there. I'll get it figured out.

I would have had the loom up and going this weekend but have been deathly ill, most of the week actually. I'm not sure what I have, my dad is convinced it's west nile virus, I think it's the flu, or the plague maybe but not west nile.

Saturday, September 24, 2005

I need to clean my studio, the last pic I took of the warping board clearly shows that this has become an issue. I really need to start with the closet off of the studio, it has a lot of stuff in there that is not necessary. Too bad I feel like road kill today.

New Warping Board that came with the loom. I still need to figure out what I need for shuttles, it came with one shuttle boat, and a bunch of tapestry style shuttles. The tapestry style shuttles should work well for my Navajo loom.

I've been ill for about four to five days now, I'm not sure what I have but it's got me by the tail, which really sucks on your birthday. Turning 39 will forever go down in my history as having the flu - or something anyway. Oh yeah lets don't forget finding out I have skin cancer - that was last week.

I'm trying to get some stuff ready for a show on Sunday, but I don't think I'm going to make it, I just don't feel up to it. I have orders I need to get out the door tomorrow morning, I'll either Fed-Ex them or send them via the Post Office. My Texas customer orders will go out next week, when Rita is done doing her damage.

You know what I really want, a blizzard (not the DQ kind), a big blueberry muffin, some hot chocolate with whipped cream, and to sit in my big easy chair, knitting up some socks. Blizzards are great, no rush to go anywhere, just stay home, you can waste as much time as you want and never need to feel guilty because you can't go anywhere.

My new stash of yarn, it came with the loom. There are four other bags, in addition to this pile. It's a very nice combo stash, wools, cottons, linen, and a bit of silk and cashmere, most of it's natural or hand-dyed.

Here's some links for the prairie, if you ever get a chance check it out someday. There are quite a few bison there, but the best time of day to see them is at sun up or sun down. We saw quite a few deer out there as well, I don't know if there are elk out there yet or not.

I can't wait to go back, I want to take better and more pics of the buffalo. I have plans to return this winter, after it's snowed to take pics as well. Prairie City isn't far from here, it's a nice drive.

For every season there is a... Loom? John and I went to Ottumwa yesterday to pick up my "new to me" loom. I received a phone call from from a woman whowanted to sell her loom. It's a LeClerc loom in mint condition, 4 harness, 42" wide. The loom came with a slug of yarn and fibers as well as the standard issue shuttle boats etc...

Afterwards, on our way home, we stopped at the Neil Smith Prairie. Buffalo, Buffalo everywhere. It was so exhilirating to see animals that big up close, oh and I might add quite terrifying as they can be very unpredictable. The one males head was less than two feet from the door of my truck. The pic I took was very blurry, I odn't know if it was because he was bobbing his head back and forth or that my hands were shaking that badly - from the excitement. I imagine it was both.

About Me

For the past 17 years I have been dyeing with natural dyes using local and sustainable materials. I teach surface design using natural dyes, rust dyeing, compost dyeing and other surface design techinques.